Victorinox Soldier

I’ve always been a fan of the old favourite ‘Swiss Army’ knife. I was given my first bright red Swiss Army knife for my tenth birthday; it had two blades, a bradle, a corkscrew (I was ten years old, so I’m not quite sure what use it would have had!), a can opener, a bottle opener, scissors a saw, other stuff and my initials were stamped on the side.

Although I own quite a collection of knives (not because I collect knives, but because I can never find the one I want when I want it so end up buying another!) I’ve just picked up another ‘Swiss Army’ knife, the Victorinox Soldier.

I picked up the Victorinox Soldier because I wanted a more basic multi-tool than the ones I already had; just something with a few very good and very usable functions and an extremely good blade.

The first thing that struck me was the colour. It’s not red, the traditional Swiss Army Knife colour, this one is green and bald with a very good non-slip grip.

As I wanted, the blades are simple but functional so the knife isn’t overweight or overloaded with gadgets that I’ll ever use. The most prominent blade is the large, lockable, cutting blade which has ‘thumbhole’ to enable single handed operation. The rear section of the blade is flat and ‘chisel ground’ and the front section is wavy for enhanced cutting performance.

The Victorinox Soldier also has a punch, bottle opener, lockable 5mm flat head screwdriver, wire stripper, Philips screwdriver, wood saw, can opener, 3mm screwdriver and a key ring. Almost as soon as I picked up the Victorinox Soldier Swiss Army Knife I added a paracord lanyard (fancy knot stuff!) so that no matter what, I’ll always have about 22 inches of cordage with me.

I’ve taken the Victorinox Soldier out in to the field just a few times so far and I love it. The main cutting blade, the most used item on the knife (so far) is proving its worth as a superb cutting tool (razor ‘hair-shaving’ sharp straight out of the box), the wood saw has proven effective at cutting hazel fronds, I’ve used both 5mm and Phillips screwdrivers and the bottle opener.

The only thing which is missing, selfishly, are the tweezers that came with my other Victorinox knives which are, without a doubt, the most used tool for me (I’m like a magnet for splinters and thorns)

All in all, I can’t fault this knife. Everything that you would need is there and everything there works and works well.

If you’re looking for a good quality, functional and good value Swiss Army style multi-tool then this is the knife for you.

In the United Kingdom, it is an offence under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to carry a lock knife or a folding knife with a blade length of more than 3 inches/7.62 cm in the public without good reason. Contravention can lead to a fine and/or imprisonment.